Education, society and politics in Central Asia

A tour of Soviet-era Bishkek

My love affair with Soviet architecture continues whilst here in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is often held up as a model of Soviet planning with its American-esque grid road system, making it an incredibly easy city to navigate. I’m told the grids were built especially to assist in case of an emergency requiring mass evacuation.

Despite these days being an incredibly modern city in many respects and one now well connected to the rest of the world through the internet and global business, it’s easy to find superb examples of Soviet-era architecture and monumentalism. Even the odd hammer and sickle remains. So for today’s post, allow me to indulge in sharing just a few of the sights spotted on a sunny central walk…

Philharmonic Hall, which can seat more than 1,000 guests. A statue of legendary Kyrgyz hero Manas sitting astride his horse Ak-Kul battling a dragon stands in front of the venue, which was opened in 1980. Click for a good history of the Hall [ru].

Visualising the blog

The current icon for my blog is this stunning building, which these days houses the Kazakh British Technical University in the centre of Almaty, Kazakhstan. In Soviet times, it was the National Parliament building. You gotta love how history turns out!